May Book Reviews

Well, May was a funny old month. I didn’t get a great amount of reading done as I was focused on getting my last couple of university assignments finished but I did enjoy what I got round to. I finished a couple of audio books this month and am really enjoying my Audible subscription. I listen to them on long car journeys and when I am doing the ironing and cleaning for example. Here is a round up of what I read (and listened to) this month.

The Fear by C. L. Taylor

This month I took part in the blog tour for The Fear by C. L. Taylor. I really enjoyed this and if you are a thriller fan, I am sure you will too. You can see the full review here

The Power by Naomi Alderman

(Audible)

WINNER OF THE 2017 BAILEYS WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION

The Blurb

What if the power to hurt were in women’s hands?

Suddenly – tomorrow or the day after – teenage girls find that with a flick of their fingers, they can inflict agonizing pain and even death. With this single twist, the four lives at the heart of Naomi Alderman’s extraordinary, visceral novel are utterly transformed.

My Review

If you are a bookworm like me and enjoy discussing books with like minded people I suggest checking out Dawn O’Porter’s book club on Instagram – The Cold Water Book Club. Last month the book she chose was Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, which I had already read (my review can be found here) and this month she chose this for the fiction book. I really enjoyed the questions i the book club after listening to this one, and thought the issues it raised were thought provoking and interesting.

I really loved the sound of this book. The premise was different from anything I had read before and that excited me. I downloaded it with the free credit I get from my Audible subscription for which I pay £7.99 a month.

I can’t say I loved this book but I did have to keep coming back to it and I wanted to hear how it all played out. It is a great one for a book club and I would recommend it to anyone who is in one as it evokes a lot of conversations with its themes of power, feminism and religion among others. I really liked the characters of Roxy and Tunde. The writing was brilliantly evocative at times and the scene where Roxy had something dreadful happen (trying not to spoil it for anyone), was very emotional and made me want to cry for her. I could feel her pain as I listened. Some scenes are a little explicit and I would only recommend this to adult readers.

One of the major downsides of this book for me was the narration. I really did not get along with it on this one and it was a definite hindrance to the book for me. A couple of the different accents were done well, but the others just grated on me. However, I am not sure I would have finished this book if I had the actual book rather than the audio version as I think I would have been bored and less inclined to pick it up.

If you enjoy something a little different and can get by with the narration of the audio version of this, I would recommend it. I liked the concept, the delivery wasn’t always as engaging as I would have liked but it did keep me listening till the end.

13 Minutes by Sarah Pinsborough

(Audible)

The Blurb

I was dead for 13 minutes.

I don’t remember how I ended up in the icy water but I do know this – it wasn’t an accident and I wasn’t suicidal.

They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but when you’re a teenage girl, it’s hard to tell them apart. My friends love me, I’m sure of it. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t try to kill me. Does it?

My Review

This book was a little shorter thn most I have on Audible so I also finished this one this month. And I really enjoyed it!

I do enjoy a thriller and this one did not disappoint, even though I worked out the big twist. However, following the journey and how everything payed out was still gripping.

The book focuses on a group of teenage girls following the night one of them is rescued from the river and bought back to life after being ‘dead’ for 13 minutes. She has lost her memory of what happened, so has to rely on her friends to fill in the gaps for her and can understand what happened to her. The book is well written and the author has done a good job with the characters of the teenage girls.

The narrator of this one was much better and was able to keep set accents and voices to different characters. Ste thought she spoke quite fast but I felt the pace was fine and much more conversational, as it would be in real life.

Dear Martha, WTF by Tricia LaVoice

The Blurb

Tricia LaVoice’s life turned upside-down when her parents were tragically killed in an automobile accident. Her close relationships with her mother and father made everyday life afterwards a challenge.

Happily married and with a beautiful baby girl, Tricia had no time to fall apart. Over the years as her family grew, Tricia met two strong, dynamic women, both survivors of their own life challenges, whose wonderful friendships and unconditional maternal love and strength guide her to trust in life.

But tragedy strikes Tricia’s family again, shaking her faith in life once more. It was during this time of suffering and loneliness that she found an unexpected respite in nature, in the form of a beautiful pine tree Tricia named Martha. This rare bond inspires Tricia who literally talks to Martha daily as she heals the hurt in her heart. Tricia learns to listen to her inner voice, and heals herself by finding her source of courage and strength is within her.

My Review

They say to save the best till last and that is certainly the case this month. What a fantastic book chronicling a woman’s journey through life and grief.

Sometimes, it is the case that you happen to pick up a book at exactly the right point in time you need to read what it has to say. That was the case for me with this one. If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I lost my Grandma at the end of April. The author of this book lost both her parents in an accident just after having her first child. This book follows her through the rest of her life and how she deals (and often does not deal) with not having her parent’s in her life. Through moving (often and cross country), having children, family ups and downs we see what her reaction is and how she manages. She shows the way her grief impacts on those around her, reflects on her faith and learns different coping mechanisms.

I just can’t do this book justice ad really do recommend a read. It will definitely be on my favourite books of 2018 list. If I told you that, in fact, Martha is a tree you would probably say – Natalie, WTF – but honestly, especially when dealing with your own grief after losing someone, whatever stage you are at, this book will say things that you can understand completely.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for my ARC of this book in return for a review containing my own, honest opinions

I hope you enjoyed my reviews this month. What have you been reading this month and would you recommend it? I love to hear a good recommendation! Let me know in the comments below and I will see you for another round up in a months time.